Orange County Fair Event Center (OC Fair Event Center) is expected to hire over 400 seasonal employees this year to meet the demand from the consecutive exhibitions scheduled from July to mid-August. On May 30th, the organization, which is under the jurisdiction of the California government and located in Costa Mesa, held its annual recruitment event.
“We have already received online applications (website OCfair.com/jobs), and this is for on-site interviews. If you meet the requirements, you will be hired on the spot,” said Terry Moore, Director of Public Communications for the fair, introducing at the event. The website lists all job vacancies, and interested parties can still apply online for remaining positions.
The event lasted for over 3 hours and attracted around 800 applicants, mostly young people. “We truly offer an excellent platform for young people to start their careers, making it one of the best summer part-time jobs,” Moore said. Applicants must be at least 16 years old to apply, but certain job types may have age restrictions. The organization typically checks if seasonal workers from previous years are available for rehire before deciding on additional hiring. Moore mentioned the anticipated large turnout of over a million people during the 5-week period of summer events.
Is work experience crucial for applicants? Moore explained, “It depends on the specific job requirements. There are entry-level positions here that are suitable for young people.” He stated that the recruitment was very successful with a high number of applicants. Applicants are generally required to meet the requirements of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9, details of which can be checked on their official website. According to the fair’s website, recruiters can bring any document from “List A,” such as a U.S. passport, green card, or foreign passport with a work visa; or bring two documents, one each from “List B” and “List C,” such as social security card, driver’s license, etc.
The job positions recruited by Orange County Fair Event Center include accounting, cashiers, carnival ticket sales, entertainment performances, cooking, table service, theater, visual arts, farm and livestock areas, equipment operation and maintenance, security personnel for gates and parking lots, as well as report writers.
Dillon, from the Commercial Concessions department at the center, explained, “We manage all the booths, including food and various merchandise, from signing contracts with suppliers, setting up to dismantling the event.” The main recruitment that day was for “Evaluators,” responsible for ensuring the goods sold by vendors pass inspection and for checking compliance with regulations, such as vendors not leaving their booths or immediately returning after using the restroom.
“We have a Badge Office for document management. If there are over 300 exhibitors, with 10 staff per booth (possibly more for food booths), that’s thousands of people. The Badge Office is in charge of verifying application data, issuing work permits, and setting up entry points, with regulations applicable to internal staff, partners, and media personnel,” mentioned Dillon. “We also have a Courtesy Booth responsible for answering people’s questions, confirming schedules or locations, addressing special requests, handling various temporary tasks, etc.”
During the journalist’s presence, they were recruiting personnel for document processing and service desks. Supervisor Kimber told the waiting candidates, “I still need one document processor to assist in distributing around 5,000 ID cards during the opening week of the exhibition. (Responsibilities include) entering applicant data into the system, taking on-the-spot photos with a web camera, and producing badges through a four-color printer.”
Kimber also needed two service desk staff, “The morning shift has experienced ‘returnees,’ now we need evening shift personnel who can inform people who to seek in case of power outages or provide various information on event arrangements. We need individuals who can be ‘fully available’ for scheduling, able to walk long hours and communicate smoothly with vendors; being bilingual is an advantage for some.”
Exhibition department supervisor Johanna mentioned that the department has filled roughly 20 positions, with latecomers added to the waiting list. “The focus is on recruiting for the Youth Exploratorium, which includes craft guidance, on-site inspections, etc.” The Exploratorium offers two competition events, Home Arts and Visual Arts, involving arts and crafts, jewelry making, painting, drawing, and photography.
Supervisors will seek talents for their specific needs, Johanna stated, “We need people who are sociable, good at communicating, and able to address various queries; they will interact with exhibition visitors, provide services, and maintain on-site order.”
The security department recruited the most personnel, approximately 100, with the longest queue. A recruiter mentioned that candidates would be responsible for entrance and venue security, such as checking personal bags, using detectors, registration, and handling emergencies; experienced individuals will be preferred, but lack of experience is not an issue as training will be provided, and both men and women are required. There will be specialized teams on-site to manage security affairs, along with police officers stationed.
Around 300 people passed the interviews that day; those with complete documents were able to get their work permits after immediate photos were taken. They could also schedule a time to submit their documents for review.